By Hannah Sivak, PhD

Every year two or three new "magic pills" appear that promise to rejuvenate your skin and erase wrinkles. From time to time, there is a grain of truth to those marketing claims.

There are many theories of aging, and a few of them have some scientific support. One of the asserts that mitochondria, the powerhouse inside of our cells, ages earlier than the rest of our cells and their failure to provide enough energy leads to cell aging. This early aging of mitochondria would be caused by the own nature of the work the mitochondria does: respiration, or the use of oxygen to break down energy-rich molecules, converting that energy into ATP. Free radicals are by-product of respiration, and even though we have lots of antioxidant systems ready to protect our cells from catastrophic damage, nothing is perfect. Mitochondria will be the first to feel the effects of the accumulated damage brought about by antioxidants.

What is idebenone? It is a synthetic molecule that can fulfill the job that Coenzyme Q10 does in mitochondria. Placed in the mitochondrial membrane, CoQ10 is essential to energy production. Applying idebenone to our skin, this synthetic molecule will ultimately reach the mitochondrial membrane and make up, in part, for the loss of efficiency of the energy producing machine.

Skin Actives Scientific sells both Coenzyme Q10 and idebenone, so it is up to you to choose the natural or synthetic molecule to replenish your aging mitochondria.

What is Prevage? A cream containing 0.5% (or 1% in the MD version) of idebenone.  You can make your own my mixing idebenpne and Canvas base cream, a non-acidic cream full of other beneficial actives like jojoba oil anf hyaluronic acid.

Don't expect miracles: there is a lot to mitochondria besides CoQ10. But idebenone can help. If you are still looking for more help to your skin, look at actives that will fulfill other needs: peptides to help the skin reconstruct its dermis, retinyl acetate (to accelerate skin renewal), rosehip oil (to provide essential fatty acids), etc.

NOTE: There is a small percentage of users of idebenone (in any brand of cream or lotion) that will have a delayed reaction to the chemical, a rash that may be caused by an allergy that develops with use. Conversely, because Coenzyme Q10 is identical to the one we have in our body, no reactions can be expected (or have been reported to us).